Monthly Archive

I decided, a couple of weeks ago, that it might be a good idea to get caught up on what’s been going on in my life. I thought I’d present it “The Week in Review”-style, but then I realized: There really wasn’t anything going on in my life.

Which is a good thing/bad thing-sorta thing, depending on your perspective. (I’ve begun to believe that less, indeed, is more … which, for me, translates to “The less upheaval going on in my life at any given moment, the better.”)

Of course, I did get a cat! Which means more than a dash of chaos has been added to my life, but so far, it’s all been quite good. Better than I imagined, actually.

Two weeks ago or so, maybe three, I had Little Kiddle over for a sleepover. JUST to see how it would go, to get an idea whether she actually could be happy — and somewhat well-behaved — indoors. And to be perfectly honest: Kiddle was a dream! She snuggled with me on the couch for three hours, and then when I headed into the bedroom, she beat me to the bed! She was all warm and purr-y, and I fell asleep feeling like I might’ve found a perfect feline companion. (She even used the litter box, properly, a couple of times!)

Then, around 3 a.m., the mewing started. And for most of the next three hours — hours that I would have preferred to spend sleeping, mind you — Kiddle traipsed around the house, dodging from window to window, acting as if she couldn’t wait to get to her usual spot: outside!

After getting ready for work, I crammed Kiddle into the pet carrier and took her back over to The Lovely’s house.

Sleepover: OVER!

Fortunately, we hit a warm spell, weather-wise, over the next couple of weeks, so Kiddle was perfectly happy to be back outside. In the meantime, I had to figure out if I was “ready” for another kitty-cat.

On one hand, I didn’t want to force Kiddle to become an inside cat if she preferred to be outside. On the other hand: Let’s be honest, she’s not exactly the sharpest tool in the shed. I mean, not so long ago, she was getting ready to mix it up with a red-tailed hawk! I had a bad feeling her somewhat overly aggressive attitude was going to get her in trouble — especially against those in the animal kingdom who were bigger & stronger (& possibly even smarter) than she.

Then it got really, really cold here over the weekend, so I decided to invite her over for another sleepover. And once again, Kiddle was the perfect house guest … until 3 or 4 a.m., when the mewing began again. That earned her another trip back across town.

This time, though, I couldn’t bear the thought of her being out in the rain and cold, so when I left work, I went over to check on her. She was standing under an eve of the neighbors’ garage, and when she saw my car pull up, she came runnin’!

I drove her home, and she’s been at my house ever since!

(I did inform her, in no uncertain terms, that if she insisted on getting up at 3 a.m., she would be banished from my room. She was fine the first night, but early this a.m., she decided to play, so … she got the heave-ho! However, all that amounted to was me closing my bedroom door and giving her the run of the house for a couple of hours!)

Aside from Kiddle, what else is there?

Well, my holiday shopping “officially” got started last weekend when I spent a great day with The Lovely and her mother, visiting Shoe Carnival, Barnes & Noble, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Best Buy and the Carbondale mall, with lunch at Panera fit nicely in-between all that.

Also over the last few days, I had a great phone conversation with a long-lost friend and also a wonderful lunch with another pal who has returned to the area (yay!).

And I have a minor tennis injury (sore calves, possibly a strained muscle or two; who knew?), but I really think I’ll be OK.

Meanwhile, I have all kinds of words inside of me, sort of ready to come tumbling out, but every time I sit down to write, I’m not in the mood to write. (“‘Not in the mood?’ Well, you GET in the mood!” — George, to Jerry, after Jerry tells him he’s “not in the mood” to discuss the details of his latest conquest.)

For example, I need to write about Little Kiddle’s sleep-over last week and how much fun we had … and how I went to see a cool movie called Into the Wild over the weekend … and how I’ve already started my Christmas shopping! … and, as usual, I need to be out taking more pictures … of course, that, too, keeps me from writing on a semi-regular basis (but that, too, is not really a valid excuse … just a convenient one).